Arctic Exceptionalism: Cooperation in a Contested World
My 14th book, Arctic Exceptionalism: Cooperation in a Contested World, a structural realist analysis of the enduring geopolitical roots of Arctic exceptionalism and the stabilizing impact of the fourth image on Arctic international relations, was published on July23, 2024 by Boulder, CO-based Lynne Rienner Books.
For more than three centuries, the Arctic region has been a zone of increasingly collaborative, multilevel and multilateral governance and diplomacy (albeit with occasional setbacks, particularly during times of intensifying strategic competition, including war time).
The interests of diverse sovereign states, indigenous peoples, NGOs, and other stakeholders have largely aligned across this impressive duration—even during periods of global conflict such as World War II and the Cold War. Now, however, its consensus-based foundations are being tested once again, straining the collaborative dynamic known as Arctic exceptionalism.
While many scholars suggest Arctic exceptionalism is either now dead or on life support and fading fast, I argue that it is alive and well, albeit undergoing a regional realignment under the pressures of Russia’s military resurgence.
Contents
Endorsements
Dr. Christopher Kirkey, Director of the Center for the Study of Canada and Institute on Québec Studies at the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh, describes this book as a “timely, compelling account of the international forces that influence and constrain the foundations and functions of Arctic collaboration.”
Dr. Alan Tidwell, Director, Center for Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Studies, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University observes: "Barry Zellen delivers a thoughtful and inspired analysis of the Arctic world. His insights weave between the world of great power competition to the intricacies of indigenous identity. No scholar or policymaker interested in the Arctic can miss Zellen's views. Arctic Exceptionalism: Cooperation in a Contested World will long be a standard against which Arctic scholarship will be measured."
Dr. Julian Reid, philosopher, political theorist and Professor of International Relations at University of Lapland observes: "Zellen offers a thoroughly unique perspective on Arctic exceptionalism. Readers of this book will be led to think differently about the Arctic and its geopolitical futures, and the underlying theories of peace and war which have shaped knowledge of the Arctic in International Relations. Zellen does not sit on the fence. He intervenes in several debates concerning both the history and future of the Arctic and pinpoints the weak spots of dominant approaches to its geopolitics. I urge every scholar of Arctic International Relations to read this book."
Ed Struzik, a fellow at Queen’s Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy at Queen’s University in Canada and author of Future Arctic, Field Notes from a World on the Edge, points out: "The Arctic was long a model for international cooperation until Russia invaded Ukraine in the winter of 2022, upending decades-long governance through the Arctic Council, international conventions and multilateral research on climate change, fisheries, and wildlife conservation. Many experts assert that there will be no going back to this pre-war exceptionalism. In this well-researched and provocative book, Barry Zellen offers ways to move forward as well as a cautionary tale that sees the circumpolar world divided between East and West and a long delay in what is needed to deal with rising sea levels, sea ice loss, permafrost thaw and wildfires that are burning bigger, hotter and more often in a world where indigenous concerns are paramount."
As Dr. Alun Mark Anderson, author of After the Ice: Life, Death and Geopolitics in the New Arctic (2009) and past editor-in-chief and publishing director of New Scientist (1992-2005) describes: "Great book ... The Arctic’s exceptional history of peace and cooperation is under threat from new tensions and hasty decisions. Zellen provides a unique analysis, tempering realism with optimism, of the deep roots of Arctic exceptionalism. This is not simply a book about Arctic exceptionalism, and the long history of peace and cooperation that sets this region apart, but also a call for action. Zellen's unique analysis of Arctic exceptionalism’s roots and the forces that created it, tempering realism with optimism, tell us that the region can weather current tensions and keep cooperation growing. No previous author has provided such an insightful analysis of Arctic exceptionalism, its deep roots, resilience and the forces that could end or save it. With the unique period of pan-Arctic peace and collaboration now under threat as never before, it is urgent reading for every stakeholder who wants to see the region’s cooperative spirit continue into the future. Every Arctic stakeholder should read this book and feel empowered to push the Arctic to a better future."
Dr. Pan Min, Deputy Director of the Center for Polar and Oceanic Studies and Associate Professor, School of Political Science and International Relations, Tong Ji University, observes: "It is an interesting and great book. On the basis of developing Waltz's Three images into Four images, the author presents to readers the roots of Arctic exceptionalism through rich materials and rigorous arguments -- challenges of the northern landscape and demographic structure of the Arctic region have led to the existence of strong subnational communities (such as colonial-era chartered companies and the indigenous organization and their local governments) as well as a balance of power and interests between local and outsiders, and long-term collaboration between them. And this cooperation model extends from the domestic level to the whole Arctic region. It makes me wonder if this collaborative model can be extended to world politics. However, the Arctic has not deviated from the power and interest struggles described by the modern international relations theories. We could feel the author's strong humanistic care between the lines of the text. The highlights of the book are the intellectual battles and successful co-management between the Inuit and the sovereign states of Arctic North America, as well as the author's brilliant analysis of them. Everyone who studies the Arctic and international relations should read this book."
As Dr. Heather N. Nicol, Director of the School for the Study of Canada and Professor of Geography in the School of the Environment at Trent University, describes: "This book takes a fresh look at some of the ways in which the Arctic has been positioned on the global stage. Zellen reworks notions of exceptionalism and sovereignty in support of a new range of possibilities for the future of the Arctic region. The broad ranging discussion in this book pulls together the various threads of analysis that have informed geopolitical assessments of the Arctic region, shedding light on the long-standing and mutually constitutive relationships between the region's Indigenous Peoples and Arctic states. Exceptionalism and self-determination are positioned as the result of the long-standing and pragmatic colonial and globalized architecture of Arctic international relations. Well worth the read."
As Dr. Timothy R. Tangherlini, Professor of Scandinavian at U.C. Berkeley, observes: "An important and timely reminder of the vital role of the Arctic in a period of increasing global volatility. In this new volume, Zellen adds to his already formidable scholarship on the Arctic, weaving together the critically important considerations of the indigenous and clear avenues for productive engagement with the Arctic predicated on notions of cooperation and consensus. A welcome departure from the super-power-centric views of much Arctic scholarship, Zellen highlights the importance of the indigenous and the Nordic for a holistic understanding of the political, cultural, economic and geographical exceptionalism that marks the Arctic, charting a way forward for the ongoing negotiations that may lead to a sustainable Arctic."
As Dr. Giorgio Baruchello, Professor, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Akureyri, and editor-in-chief of Nordicum-Mediterraneum: Icelandic e-Journal of Nordic and Mediterranean Studies, describes: "The Arctic Council has long represented an inspiring, concrete and rare, if not unique, paradigm of peaceful, multilateral cooperation across both the old and new Cold War fault-lines, as well as the State-vs-Indigenous-actors one—that is to say, until Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Nobody knows nor can credibly envision what the world’s future is exactly going to be like. Nonetheless, Dr. Barry Zellen offers an informed and informative survey of the Council's history, work and example, as well as of the Arctic region's collaborative and constructive combination of competing interests and vital needs over the past few decades. By so doing, Zellen sheds much valuable and much-needed light on current, unfolding, only seemingly-marginal Arctic geopolitical scenarios, and strikes a balanced, well-argued, insightful, and subtly optimistic note on the region's forthcoming trends in international relations and responsible governance."
Dr. Chuanxing Wang, Professor of International Relations at the Center for Polar and Maritime Studies, School of Political Science and International Relations, Tong Ji University holds “this is a timely book because at this time when Arctic exceptionalism ‘has been under new pressures’ recently, Zellen defends this exceptionalism by dating it back to the Arctic tradition of tribe-state co-management in history, and by emphasizing its significance to the reality of cooperation in the Arctic today.”
Dr. Joji Morishita, Advisor, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, Government of Japan and formerly Japan’s Commissioner to the International Whaling Commission (2013-18; IWC Chair 2016-18); Director-General, National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries (2013-16); Counsellor (2008-13) and Senior Negotiator (2005-08), Japan Fisheries Agency; First Secretary, Embassy of Japan to the USA (1993-96) observes: "This book by Barry Scott Zellen is an excellent reference that systematically covers the history and current state of the legal framework in the Arctic, but it would be an underestimation and even an insult to position it as merely an Arctic legal compendium, and not much more. If the building blocks of this book are an extensive description of policy developments in the relevant countries and international frameworks related to the Arctic region and the legal instruments that implement and manage them, this book provides and discusses several elements, perspectives, and points of view that penetrate these building blocks and further influence the way they are built up. For example, the perspective of indigenous peoples is indispensable when discussing the Arctic region. The issues and situations surrounding indigenous peoples and the resulting policies of Arctic nations, both domestic and international, have undergone many changes, and this book translates legal commentary into a lively narrative that reflects the author's extensive knowledge and in-depth consideration of this issue. The author also discusses in detail one of the biggest challenges facing the modern world today, climate change, and its impact on the Arctic region and the Arctic legal system. Furthermore, the main target of this book is the question of how to view the present and future of the Arctic region and how to rebuild international cooperation in the context of a divided and destabilized world, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It is obvious that this is not an easy challenge, but this book offers us valuable insights and suggestions."
And, as Dr. Nadine C. Fabbi, Director, Canadian Studies Center and Chair, Arctic Studies Minor, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington, Seattle, has informed is: "I have made this our required course text for Inuit studies!"
For more than three centuries, the Arctic region has been a zone of increasingly collaborative, multilevel and multilateral governance and diplomacy (albeit with occasional setbacks, particularly during times of intensifying strategic competition, including war time).
The interests of diverse sovereign states, indigenous peoples, NGOs, and other stakeholders have largely aligned across this impressive duration—even during periods of global conflict such as World War II and the Cold War. Now, however, its consensus-based foundations are being tested once again, straining the collaborative dynamic known as Arctic exceptionalism.
While many scholars suggest Arctic exceptionalism is either now dead or on life support and fading fast, I argue that it is alive and well, albeit undergoing a regional realignment under the pressures of Russia’s military resurgence.
Contents
- Arctic Exceptionalism.
- Strategic Expansion to the Arctic Region.
- The Age of Arctic Land Claims.
- Inuit Sovereignty in a Westphalian World.
- The Rise and Collapse of Consensus.
- The Realist Foundations of a Collaborative Arctic Order.
- A Cooperative Arctic in a Contested World?
Endorsements
Dr. Christopher Kirkey, Director of the Center for the Study of Canada and Institute on Québec Studies at the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh, describes this book as a “timely, compelling account of the international forces that influence and constrain the foundations and functions of Arctic collaboration.”
Dr. Alan Tidwell, Director, Center for Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Studies, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University observes: "Barry Zellen delivers a thoughtful and inspired analysis of the Arctic world. His insights weave between the world of great power competition to the intricacies of indigenous identity. No scholar or policymaker interested in the Arctic can miss Zellen's views. Arctic Exceptionalism: Cooperation in a Contested World will long be a standard against which Arctic scholarship will be measured."
Dr. Julian Reid, philosopher, political theorist and Professor of International Relations at University of Lapland observes: "Zellen offers a thoroughly unique perspective on Arctic exceptionalism. Readers of this book will be led to think differently about the Arctic and its geopolitical futures, and the underlying theories of peace and war which have shaped knowledge of the Arctic in International Relations. Zellen does not sit on the fence. He intervenes in several debates concerning both the history and future of the Arctic and pinpoints the weak spots of dominant approaches to its geopolitics. I urge every scholar of Arctic International Relations to read this book."
Ed Struzik, a fellow at Queen’s Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy at Queen’s University in Canada and author of Future Arctic, Field Notes from a World on the Edge, points out: "The Arctic was long a model for international cooperation until Russia invaded Ukraine in the winter of 2022, upending decades-long governance through the Arctic Council, international conventions and multilateral research on climate change, fisheries, and wildlife conservation. Many experts assert that there will be no going back to this pre-war exceptionalism. In this well-researched and provocative book, Barry Zellen offers ways to move forward as well as a cautionary tale that sees the circumpolar world divided between East and West and a long delay in what is needed to deal with rising sea levels, sea ice loss, permafrost thaw and wildfires that are burning bigger, hotter and more often in a world where indigenous concerns are paramount."
As Dr. Alun Mark Anderson, author of After the Ice: Life, Death and Geopolitics in the New Arctic (2009) and past editor-in-chief and publishing director of New Scientist (1992-2005) describes: "Great book ... The Arctic’s exceptional history of peace and cooperation is under threat from new tensions and hasty decisions. Zellen provides a unique analysis, tempering realism with optimism, of the deep roots of Arctic exceptionalism. This is not simply a book about Arctic exceptionalism, and the long history of peace and cooperation that sets this region apart, but also a call for action. Zellen's unique analysis of Arctic exceptionalism’s roots and the forces that created it, tempering realism with optimism, tell us that the region can weather current tensions and keep cooperation growing. No previous author has provided such an insightful analysis of Arctic exceptionalism, its deep roots, resilience and the forces that could end or save it. With the unique period of pan-Arctic peace and collaboration now under threat as never before, it is urgent reading for every stakeholder who wants to see the region’s cooperative spirit continue into the future. Every Arctic stakeholder should read this book and feel empowered to push the Arctic to a better future."
Dr. Pan Min, Deputy Director of the Center for Polar and Oceanic Studies and Associate Professor, School of Political Science and International Relations, Tong Ji University, observes: "It is an interesting and great book. On the basis of developing Waltz's Three images into Four images, the author presents to readers the roots of Arctic exceptionalism through rich materials and rigorous arguments -- challenges of the northern landscape and demographic structure of the Arctic region have led to the existence of strong subnational communities (such as colonial-era chartered companies and the indigenous organization and their local governments) as well as a balance of power and interests between local and outsiders, and long-term collaboration between them. And this cooperation model extends from the domestic level to the whole Arctic region. It makes me wonder if this collaborative model can be extended to world politics. However, the Arctic has not deviated from the power and interest struggles described by the modern international relations theories. We could feel the author's strong humanistic care between the lines of the text. The highlights of the book are the intellectual battles and successful co-management between the Inuit and the sovereign states of Arctic North America, as well as the author's brilliant analysis of them. Everyone who studies the Arctic and international relations should read this book."
As Dr. Heather N. Nicol, Director of the School for the Study of Canada and Professor of Geography in the School of the Environment at Trent University, describes: "This book takes a fresh look at some of the ways in which the Arctic has been positioned on the global stage. Zellen reworks notions of exceptionalism and sovereignty in support of a new range of possibilities for the future of the Arctic region. The broad ranging discussion in this book pulls together the various threads of analysis that have informed geopolitical assessments of the Arctic region, shedding light on the long-standing and mutually constitutive relationships between the region's Indigenous Peoples and Arctic states. Exceptionalism and self-determination are positioned as the result of the long-standing and pragmatic colonial and globalized architecture of Arctic international relations. Well worth the read."
As Dr. Timothy R. Tangherlini, Professor of Scandinavian at U.C. Berkeley, observes: "An important and timely reminder of the vital role of the Arctic in a period of increasing global volatility. In this new volume, Zellen adds to his already formidable scholarship on the Arctic, weaving together the critically important considerations of the indigenous and clear avenues for productive engagement with the Arctic predicated on notions of cooperation and consensus. A welcome departure from the super-power-centric views of much Arctic scholarship, Zellen highlights the importance of the indigenous and the Nordic for a holistic understanding of the political, cultural, economic and geographical exceptionalism that marks the Arctic, charting a way forward for the ongoing negotiations that may lead to a sustainable Arctic."
As Dr. Giorgio Baruchello, Professor, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Akureyri, and editor-in-chief of Nordicum-Mediterraneum: Icelandic e-Journal of Nordic and Mediterranean Studies, describes: "The Arctic Council has long represented an inspiring, concrete and rare, if not unique, paradigm of peaceful, multilateral cooperation across both the old and new Cold War fault-lines, as well as the State-vs-Indigenous-actors one—that is to say, until Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Nobody knows nor can credibly envision what the world’s future is exactly going to be like. Nonetheless, Dr. Barry Zellen offers an informed and informative survey of the Council's history, work and example, as well as of the Arctic region's collaborative and constructive combination of competing interests and vital needs over the past few decades. By so doing, Zellen sheds much valuable and much-needed light on current, unfolding, only seemingly-marginal Arctic geopolitical scenarios, and strikes a balanced, well-argued, insightful, and subtly optimistic note on the region's forthcoming trends in international relations and responsible governance."
Dr. Chuanxing Wang, Professor of International Relations at the Center for Polar and Maritime Studies, School of Political Science and International Relations, Tong Ji University holds “this is a timely book because at this time when Arctic exceptionalism ‘has been under new pressures’ recently, Zellen defends this exceptionalism by dating it back to the Arctic tradition of tribe-state co-management in history, and by emphasizing its significance to the reality of cooperation in the Arctic today.”
Dr. Joji Morishita, Advisor, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, Government of Japan and formerly Japan’s Commissioner to the International Whaling Commission (2013-18; IWC Chair 2016-18); Director-General, National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries (2013-16); Counsellor (2008-13) and Senior Negotiator (2005-08), Japan Fisheries Agency; First Secretary, Embassy of Japan to the USA (1993-96) observes: "This book by Barry Scott Zellen is an excellent reference that systematically covers the history and current state of the legal framework in the Arctic, but it would be an underestimation and even an insult to position it as merely an Arctic legal compendium, and not much more. If the building blocks of this book are an extensive description of policy developments in the relevant countries and international frameworks related to the Arctic region and the legal instruments that implement and manage them, this book provides and discusses several elements, perspectives, and points of view that penetrate these building blocks and further influence the way they are built up. For example, the perspective of indigenous peoples is indispensable when discussing the Arctic region. The issues and situations surrounding indigenous peoples and the resulting policies of Arctic nations, both domestic and international, have undergone many changes, and this book translates legal commentary into a lively narrative that reflects the author's extensive knowledge and in-depth consideration of this issue. The author also discusses in detail one of the biggest challenges facing the modern world today, climate change, and its impact on the Arctic region and the Arctic legal system. Furthermore, the main target of this book is the question of how to view the present and future of the Arctic region and how to rebuild international cooperation in the context of a divided and destabilized world, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It is obvious that this is not an easy challenge, but this book offers us valuable insights and suggestions."
And, as Dr. Nadine C. Fabbi, Director, Canadian Studies Center and Chair, Arctic Studies Minor, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington, Seattle, has informed is: "I have made this our required course text for Inuit studies!"
